In Too Deep
by AmazingGraceless
Summary: Possible spoilers for the Last Jedi! Finn wants to run from the final battle, but he has a mission to complete. It's not a mission from Leia or Holdo or Poe. It's a mission of his heart. Finnrose


Sirens wailed in the background. Finn had to make a choice here and now. He could run, find Rey- no one would care in all the chaos. He could finally do what he wanted all those weeks ago. Or he could stay and fight.

 _For Rose._

Her face came to his mind, and he knew what he had to do. He was done running. With that, he sprinted down the hallways towards the hangar. He pulled on the yellow jumpsuit of the Cobalt Squadron over his civilian clothes, and the life support system. He grabbed a spare helmet, turned on the frequency.

"Cobalt Five, coming in," Finn said.

"Cobalt Five, get in an X-wing now," Captain Tallie ordered.

"Copy Cobalt Leader," Finn said. He hurried towards the only free one- Paige's own X-wing. He placed his hand on the ladder when he heard her.

"FINN!"

He turned to see Rose, running from across the hangar to him. He could sense her fear in the pain- fear that she'd lose him like she lost her sister, he realized with a start. He ran to her without a second thought.

They embraced. Finn looked down into the dark eyes of the young engineer he'd come to know. . . and love, he realized.

"I have to do this," he said. "I can't run anymore. It's like you told me- I have a mission to complete: protecting you."

"I love you," she said. "Finn, be careful. May the Force be with you."

"I love you too," he said. "And I promise I'll come back for you."

He then ran to the X-wing, and got into the cockpit. "I can do this, I can do this."

He _had_ to do this.

Finn shifted the X-wing into gear, and he took off, following the pack so low, they were kicking up the blood-red Craitian sand. To cover the base location, Finn realized. Still getting used to the controls, he overcompensated, and nearly crashed. Some signals started beeping and his screens flashed at him.

"You okay, Cobalt Five?" Poe asked over the frequency.

"I'm fine, I think," Finn said. He glanced at the dashboard. "I think my shields are down."

"That's not good," Captain Tallie said. "That means one hit and you're toast."

"Black Twelve, Black Seven, protect Cobalt Five," Poe ordered.

"Roger that, Black Leader," a male and female said at the same time.

"Thanks," Finn said.

"We'd do anything for you, Big Deal," Black Twelve said.

Finn, in spite of himself, grinned at the nickname that Han Solo had given him. If he died tonight, at least he'd die surrounded by friends and knowing that Rose loved him as much as he loved her.

 _I'm sorry, Rose._

The X-wing was still shaking a little, but Finn was getting used to the controls. His heart pounded in his chest as what seemed like endless TIE fighters emerged from the overcast sky. He took a deep breath, and tightened his grip on the steering.

"Targets coming into view," Captain Tallie said.

"Don't hold back," Poe warned.

"And may the Force be with you," Finn added.

For that moment, they all breathed in and out collectively. This was the end, the greatest of all the battles they'd fought so far. This was the moment of life or death. There was destiny to it. Everything it seemed, had come down to this.

Green bolts whizzed past, and through luck, and intuition, Finn managed to dodge as X-wings and A-wings dropped like flies around him. The targeting computer, however, was a distraction. Finn turned it off, and fired at the enemy. He had to protect his friends, protect Rose.

"There's one on your tail!" Jessika cried. "I've got it!"

Just as she said that, there was an explosion. "Blue Three? Blue Three, come in? Jessika? Jessika!"

"I'm here!" she shouted, sounding just as relieved as Finn did.

Every moment felt like forever. It was an eternity of adrenaline and blaster bolts. So many times, his skills faltered, but when he was at the brink of falling or dying, he remembered Rose. He had to come back to her.

He didn't know what caused him to look up when he did, but when he did, he saw the _Falcon_ soaring through the clouds. Finn could sense Rey, and Chewie, and Luke- and someone else.

"It's Rey!" he shouted. "Rey's come back to help us! We have to help the _Falcon_!"

"We hear you, Cobalt Five," said Captain Tallie. "We're on our way. Cobalt Squadron, protect the _Millennium Falcon_!"

Finn soared up with the rest of them, and shot at the TIEs.

"There's more in the atmosphere!" Captain Tallie cried. "We need to help the _Last Command_. Come-"

She was cut off by a blood-curdling scream. Finn knew it as a death cry. She and several others were shot down.

"What do we do?" someone shouted. "Tallie's dead!"

"So's her second in command!"

"We need to help the _Last Command_ ," Finn said. He was finally living up to his full potential. This was who he was meant to be. "We can take out the _Finalizer_! Hit the command center, and then take out the turrets, and we'll be able to sink it!"

There was silence for a heart-pounding moment.

"Copy that, Cobalt Leader," Black Seven said.

Finn let out a small sigh of relief- it wouldn't last for long, but that didn't matter. Every second was one where he was living, not dying. This was it.

He led the fleet into the atmosphere, where the _Finalizer_ lurked, facing off against the _Last Command_.

 _Breathe. Just breathe._

He closed his eyes. Finn breathed in, then out. He followed his intuition, and pressed the trigger. His eyes opened just in time to see the blaster bolt fire straight into the command center, blowing up the entire thing.

"Woo!" he cried. "I got it!"

"Way to go, Cobalt Leader!" several pilots said. He then turned down and headed for the turrets. It would be deadly, but worth it. Immediately upon approach, an A-wing was fired out of the sky, and sent to the sands of Crait for all time. Finn couldn't let the same happen to him.

"Give it all you've got!" he cried. "Trust in yourselves, and in the Force! We're almost there!"

For a moment, the entire fleet of the Resistance and New Republic combined took a collective breath. In, then out. Then they fired with all the fury of all the Corellian hells. One by one the turrets blinked out, shot their last bolts. The ships deftly avoided all of them.

The Finalizer was stagnant in the air for a moment. Then it gave a great shudder before plummeting to Crait.

Cheers and screams of joy and relief filled the frequency, Finn along with them.

The TIES began to jump to hyperspace, as well as the other bigger ships, making it easy to shoot down the stragglers.

"We've done our job," Finn said. "Let's go home, everyone."

* * *

He landed the X-wing in the hangar, barely coming to a stop inside. Everyone, it seemed, was inside the hangar in that moment, come to greet the heroes of the Resistance. Finn threw off his helmet, and leapt out of the cockpit. He stood at the bottom of the ladder on the side, surrounded by the crowd and the communal energy in the Force, before spotting her distinctive ponytail.

"ROSE!" he shouted, and she turned. He ran to her, and she to him, and the crowds parted as the lovers met, embracing again, this time in victory. Finn swept Rose off her feet and kissed her, wanting this moment to be his forever. Her lips against his, sharing the energy of the Force and her soft body in his arms, pressed together in a perfect fit.

He set her down, and she grinned up at him.

"I promised I'd come back for you, didn't I?"

"Oh, Finn," she cried, and she threw her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, the force of it nearly knocking him over. Luckily, he managed to maintain his balance, and he twirled her around.

They were together, victory was theirs, and the future was in their hands. Tomorrow would be another battle, but that didn't matter tonight as the storm raged outside. It was all out there- in here, two hearts beat as one.


End file.
